One Of the White Hats
by RandomSelection
Summary: We all know Faith switched sites and joined forces with the Mayor, right? But is that all there is to know? Or is there something more going on? Read and find out! B/F
1. Chapter 1

_Hey, I know it's been ages since the last update, but I just haven't been able to get my mind around writing fanfiction lately … sorry for the delay! I'm also aware that the last chapter of 'Best Christmas Ever' should probably best be posted before Easter, but … yeah, I'll do what I can! :-) _

I hope you like this fic, it's set during the events of Graduation Day and I'm not quite sure yet how long it will turn out. Thanks to faithsummers, who has beta-ed this story!

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One Of The White-Hats

Chapter 1: The Source

For hours the only sound in the library had been the turning of pages and the quiet steps of someone going to get yet another book. Willow Rosenberg was searching the index of the big and dusty volume she was studying – _De origine, moribus et rebus gestis daemonorum_ – for some reference to the Ascension, but she already knew it would be in vain. There just wasn't anything to be found in there! She closed her burning eyes for some seconds, then looked around.

Oz, sitting next to her, seemed to have sensed her movement, for he looked up himself and gave her one of his almost-smiles, which made her feel better instantly. Next to him, the two Watchers were still trying to get every bit of relevant information out of the pages she had ripped from the _Books Of Ascension_.

Willow couldn't help but feel guilty about that. Sure, she had managed to get her hands on something valuable, but she still had acted irresponsible and stupid. If she'd just fled, she might have gotten back here without being caught, and they could have destroyed the Box Of Gavrock, thereby effectively preventing the Mayor's Ascension ... everything would be over now, without anybody being hurt ... But she'd had to stop for the books, and Faith _had_ caught her ... _"Check out the bookworm ..."_

The Dark Slayer's taunting words haunted Willow's dreams, as did the cold feeling of a blade being pressed to her face ... she couldn't help but shudder. If the Mayor hadn't shown up, who knows what ... She pushed that memory aside. Next to Giles sat Angel, dark and gloomy, completely motionless except for his eyes, and next to him Xander and Cordelia were actually reading and not snapping at each other. And then there was Buffy ...

Willow's gaze lingered on her best friend, and her expression changed. She was worried. Things had been hard for Buffy: Faith's treachery, Angel breaking up with her (no matter how noble his reasons were), and now time was running short. There were only a few days left until Graduation, which, according to the info Buffy and Angel had managed to trick out of Faith, would be the Mayor's big day, too. A few days only, and they still had no idea, not even a faint notion, what the Ascension actually was or how they might be able to prevent it. Xander had even come up with the idea to _pump Anya for information _– he had rephrased that, noticing the look on his friends' faces – but it seemed that the ex-demon had bailed. So they had nothing ... and although they all would do whatever they could to help, Willow knew (just like everyone else) that ultimately the pressure was on Buffy alone. She was the Slayer.

And Willow wasn't sure Buffy could handle it, she feared the weight might be too heavy this time. Sure, she had stopped Acathla destroying the world, but as hard as it doubtlessly had been, she at least had known what to do back then: Kill Angel. Now, there was nothing like that, nothing to work with, no enemy to kill – for the big bad inconveniently happened to be impervious, and his second-in-command …

Willow signed. Faith's betrayal had hit Buffy hard, she could tell, although the blond Slayer tried to hide it. _I don't quite get that part, though … it's not like they have been so close anyway … _But then again…just finding out that there was another Slayer after having been told to she was the only one, having been _alone_ for years … the possibility of sharing the burden of the calling, the weight of destiny …at last meeting someone alike… who had tuned out to be so different …

She snapped out of the thoughts guiltily. _I'm supposed to read, help, find something …_ Then she realized that Buffy wasn't reading, either - for at least ten minutes she had been staring at the same page, and her eyes weren't even moving along the lines, but just fixed at one point … _I wonder what she's thinking about … The Ascension? Angel? Or Faith?_ But while she still considered calling a break, maybe get some pizza and a chance to talk to her friend, something happened … something unbelievable, something nobody present could ever have imagined happening in the library, something completely unheard of…

A cell phone rang.

***

Everybody looked up, shocked – everybody but Giles, who jumped right out of his chair. Without so much as a look at anybody, he made his was into his office, pulling a ringing cell phone out of his pocket. Then the door closed – leaving seven very confused people to stare at it.

Xander was the first one to recover. "Giles has a cell phone?" He looked round, meeting equally stunned expressions everywhere … well, neither Oz's nor Angel's faces actually showed anything, but still … "Next thing you'll tell me he got a TV!"

"Or he's actually having sex."

The young man pulled a face. "Eww, thanks for the picture, Cordy!" They started to bicker, but Willow didn't listen. Instead, she put her book down and made her way to Buffy. "Hey", she said lightly, hiding her concern. "Did you know Giles had a cell phone?"

"Huh?" The blond Slayer had evidently still been lost in her thoughts. "No … had no idea."

"Me neither. But it seems to be important, the way he ran in there …"

"Mhm …" It couldn't have been more obvious that Buffy didn't really care … which was quite uncharacteristic.

Willow pulled a chair next to her friend and lowered her voice. "Buffy, are you all right?"

"What? Oh … yeah, I'm fine." She tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it was no more than a shadow of a real smile. "Don't worry, Will."

Suddenly, Willow felt her concern turn into anger. "Rubbish!" she snap-whispered. "You're _not_ fine, and I've every reason to worry!" When she had hoped to get some kind of a reaction out of Buffy, she was disappointed: the blond girl didn't even look at her, but continued to stare into space. The redhead sighed and changed her approach, "Buffy…"

But before she could say anything more, the door of Giles' office opened again and he came striding out with an expression of worry and determination, pulling on his jacket. Everybody looked at him, surprised. "I have to leave for some time," he stated. His voice was tense. "I'll be back in about half an hour, you just continue with the research …"

More surprised looks were exchanged. "What's going on?" Xander asked.

"I've no time for explanations now. Let's just say, I might come back with some valuable information."

Now Willow spoke up. "But maybe … maybe we can help?"

If it hadn't been Giles, she would have sworn he had let out an exasperated sigh. "There's nothing you can do. Look, I've to go …"

This was the moment when Wesley Wyndam-Pryce decided it was time for him to act. He rose from his chair, standing up as straightly, stiffly, and pompously as he could manage, opened his mouth and was cut off before he could get the first word out. "There's no time for discussions!" Nearly everybody present flinched at the sharpness and authority in Giles' voice … well, except Angel, Oz, and Buffy, but still … "I have a … contact, a source. The call … there might be information about the Ascension, information of crucial importance … But this is a delicate thing to handle, so I have to go at once, and I have to go alone. And I want you – all of you! – to stay here until I return. Any of you showing up at the wrong place at the wrong time could blow our last chance to stop the Mayor." He looked at them in turn. "Have I made myself clear?"

There were a number of nods, even from Cordelia and Angel, only Wesley opened his mouth again. "Nobody is gonna leave." Buffy said simply. Willow quickly turned her head to look at her friend, Buffy's voice… wasn't flat and emotionless any more like it had been in the past weeks, something seemed to have changed. The change was visible as well - Buffy was staring at her Watcher with an intensity Willow had feared never to see again. "Go. Go and get her."

Giles looked at her for a second, his surprise evident. Then he nodded and was gone.

***

They tried to continue with their research while they waited, but nobody seemed to be able to concentrate on the books any more. Wesley, seriously miffed about being left out of something important yet again, kept muttering under his breath, every now and then words like 'council' and 'authority' were distinguishable, but as usual nobody paid any attention to him. Xander was straining everybody's patience with ever wilder speculations about Giles' ominous 'source', Cordelia was checking her make-up, and Willow was busy watching Buffy

Buffy Summers seemed to have become a completely different person in the last minutes. Gone was the girl who would have won a brooding-contest with Angel even on one of her happy days, who had hardly acknowledged anyone's presence around her, let alone answered when spoken to. Now she barely managed to keep sitting in her chair, every other moment she looked at her watch, and when she didn't, she stared at the closed door as if trying to force it to reopen by will.

Her behavior puzzled Willow. _What's gotten into her?_ Of course she, too, was excited at the possibility of Giles gaining information that would help stopping the Ascension, and she definitely liked 'new' Buffy better than the other one, but she couldn't help it… something about this sudden change bothered her.

She was just trying to decide whether she'd simply ask or leave it alone and wait, when suddenly the blond girl shot up from her chair, showing all signs of rapt attention. Some seconds later they all could hear the footsteps her Slayer-hearing had perceived earlier; footsteps of more than one person. All eyes turned to the door, which swung open only moments later. Giles came in, looking considerably more relaxed than 33 Minutes before … not that anyone had been counting. He was accompanied by an elderly man who looked terrified and was trembling visibly.

Everybody was looking at the newcomer incredulously. _That_ was Giles' secret source? Willow didn't know what exactly she'd been expecting, but certainly not such an … _academic looking_ person! But maybe it was a demon in disguise? She looked at her friend, the Slayer certainly would know … But Buffy, she realized, wasn't even looking at the stranger who was still standing in the doorway next to Giles, not really. It somehow seemed that she was looking right _through_ him, the expression of attention even more intense than before …

For some moments, nobody moved or spoke. Giles' gaze was fixed on his Slayer, a strange little smile playing around the corners of his mouth. Then he stepped aside.

Five sharp intakes of breath.

"Hey, B. Miss me?"

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_Well, who might that be? ;-) Whadda ya think, anyway? Please review!_


	2. Chapter 2: True Colors

**Wesley Wyndam-Pryce will not be treated nicely in this chapter; I **_**really**_** don't like him! ;-) But we will see **_**The Return of the Dark Slayer**_** … would be a good movie-title, don't you think? Please don't forget to review!**

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Chapter 2: True Colors

_Six sharp intakes of breath._

"_Hey, B. Miss me?"_

Faith.

There she was. Standing in the doorway with her leather pants and jacket, cool as you please, hands on her hips and a trademark smirk in her face. Willow felt panic rise inside her, felt her mouth getting dry and her knees starting to tremble ... for a fraction of a second the cool blade was pressed against her skin again: _You're hurting me, I'm hurting you ..._

Then a lot of things happened really fast: Angel let out a threatening growl, vamped out and leaped over the table, ready to attack. Oz moved in front of Willow, shielding her from the Dark Slayer, while Xander and Cordy backed away, trying to put as much space as possible between themselves and Faith – and Willow couldn't blame them; she would have done the same if she hadn't been completely petrified with fear. And Buffy ... Buffy had reacted faster than anyone.

She'd been out of her chair and halfway across the room in a confusing blur of motion before Faith had finished her cocky question, and _way_ before Angel had even started to move. She threw herself on her dark counterpart with everything she had, hugging her...

Wait. Stop. Rewind. Play again in slow-motion. _Hugging her???_

The expressions of the Scoobies, Wes, and Angel would have required a redefinition of the word ‚stunned, intensifying its meaning by ten, at the least. Open-mouthed, literally spoken, they stared at their friend, who seemed to have lost her mind, for she still was hugging Faith like there was no tomorrow... Faith the enemy, Faith the traitor, Faith...

Only three faces showed something different than utter shock and confusion: The elderly man still seemed too terrified to feel anything else, Giles was smiling in a content and strangely satisfied way, and Faith ... Faith's smile simply brightened the room as she started to return the hug, it was wide and brilliant – you could have seen it from space. Buffy's expression, on the other hand, could not be made out, for she had buried her face somewhere in the other girl's dark curls.

"So I'll take that as a yes?" The question was asked in a light and playful manner, yet there was something else in Faith's voice, something...

Suddenly, Buffy broke the embrace rather forcefully. When she stepped back, one could see that tears were streaming freely down her face. "I hate you!" she sobbed and gave the surprised girl a push so hard that she staggered, stumbled, collided with Giles and fell, almost bringing him crashing down with her. "And YOU!" The blond Slayer turned to her Watcher, she was yelling now. "How could you DO this to me? How could you..." And then she was just crying, crying so hard that her whole slim body was shaking, and blindly she ran for the door, down the corridor...

Faith, who was on her feet again, made a step to follow her, but Giles held up a hand. "Wait! She needs time to calm down. Better leave her alone until she's ready." The dark-haired girl hesitated, then nodded… and turned, looking at the six persons who hadn't moved a muscle. "Hey, guys", she said quietly. "Rumor has it ya might need a hand?"

***

Angel was the first one to catch on. He shook off his daze, morphed his face back to handsome and actually smiled. "Faith. It seems I stand corrected. You _are_ the world's best actor after all."

Faith couldn't help but return his smile. "Oh, I don't know 'bout that, Fang, you've been damn convincing yerself! If I hadn't known it all was just fake, ya almost would've terrified me … almost."

Angel's smile faded. "I had almost two centuries to practice that role…"

"What… what…" Eloquent phrasing, always a trademark of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. To his credit, he was the first human who actually managed any kind of sound; just leave it to him to act like an idiot. "What… what…"

When Faith looked at him, her expression changed, her eyes became cold and threatening. But before she could say anything, Xander spoke up. "What the hell is going on? Why … what's _she_ doing here?" He avoided looking at the Dark Slayer, and for some reason his left eye had started to twitch. "Giles! What…"

Faith couldn't help but roll her eyes – she had been resolved to be patient, but… "Really, have you guys never watched any James-Bond-movies?" She looked at Xander, whose gaze had jumped to her and away again, then to Red, to Oz, to Queen C. She spoke slowly, like she was explaining to little children that two and two equated four. "Good guy… _playing_ the bad guy… to help the good guys?"

That got her even more stunned expressions. Then Willow asked, in a trembling voice, "You… you were like a double-agent? Working undercover? Spying on the Mayor to…" She paused, swallowed, spoke again. "You never changed sides? Never betrayed us?" The last words were only whispered.

Faith looked at her, in her eyes, big with fear, and couldn't answer. She opened her mouth, but her throat was constricted, the words just wouldn't come out.

"No, she didn't." Giles answered for her. "Faith never betrayed us, never changed sides. It was just a charade, a cover, part of a plan to get her close to the Mayor, so she could pass information to us." He stepped next to the dark-haired girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Faith never betrayed us," he repeated. "She just did what I asked her to do, and she did it incredibly well! She tipped me off more than once, and what she discovered today may very well give us the crucial advantage we have been looking for so long. If we manage to stop the Mayor's Ascension, this will be to no small part Faith's achievement!"

Willow was surprised to see the Slayer glowing at the Watcher's words… it seemed so unlike Faith to care about the opinion of anybody, least [of all] a Watcher… but then the small redhead realized that she couldn't even remember Faith being complimented for something she'd done ever before… _Is it really possible? Not a 'well done' or a 'thank you'?_

***

"I for one must protest vehemently!" Three guesses on who that was. "Yet again you have…"

He was cut off again. With few quick strides Faith had crossed the room and slammed her hand on the wooden table. "Shut up." She hissed. The Watcher wanted to say something, but remained silent at her death glare. "_Shut up_! Ya got nothin' to say here anymore!" Her voice was shaking with emotion. "I may not have betrayed anyone, but you have - Ya betrayed me!"

He just couldn't keep his mouth shut. "You murdered…"

For one second it seemed Faith was going to hit him, both Giles and Angel started moving towards her, but she didn't. She punched the table with such a force that the massive wood cracked, but she didn't hit Wesley – but it effectively shut him up nonetheless.

"When…" Faith was breathing heavily now, the pain in her voice evident. "When… this happened with Finch, when… when I killed him, everybody here tried to help me. B, she an' the X-Man, he…" She looked at the young man who averted her gaze. "He offered me his friendship, puttin' himself to risk to help me… I couldn't see it back then, I was too scared, too confused…" Slowly, Xander turned his head towards her, finally meeting her eyes, "but I see it now…" She looked at him, the eyes full of tears and sorrow, and after what felt like eternity, he gave her a small nod and the shadow of a smile.

Faith drew a deep breath. "And Angel…" She looked at the vampire. "You… what you tried to do, tried to show me… It would've worked, you would've gotten through to me – hell, you already were!" Angel nodded. He knew he had reached her.

"But _you_…" the Dark Slayer spat, glaring at Wesley again, "you had to waltz in there with your fucking council-cronies and treat me like I was your enemy! You…"

"I did what had to be done!" The younger Watcher's anger and indignation seemed to have overcome his fear. "You murdered a man!"

"I KILLED A MAN!" Faith roared, making everybody jump. For a moment, she looked quite deranged, her beautiful features twisted in fury and pain. "I didn't murder him, I KILLED him – there's a fuckin' difference! It was a damn accident, I didn't mean to do it, everythin' just happened so fast, I didn't realize he was human 'til…" She drew a deep breath, calming herself a little. "I… I made a terrible mistake", she said quietly, not looking at Wesley nor anybody else, "I was scared, I needed help… Angel, Xander, B, Rupert… they wanted to help me – but you," here her voice grew louder again, angrier, "you treated me like I was some kind of demon, soulless and evil!"

"I did what had to be done!" Wesley repeated stubbornly, but his voice carried no conviction, and he had dropped his gaze.

***

"No, you didn't." All eyes snapped to Giles who had been cleaning his glasses and now put them back on. "According to the guidelines of the Council there would have been plenty other possibilities in a case like this. Arresting the Slayer is just one of them. It's the _ultima ratio_ only, and it's highly recommended to explore all other options before turning to this plan of action. That you failed to do. You chose the option easiest for you and worst for Faith, because you feared for your career and reputation within the Watchers Council."

Wesley stared at him, dumbfounded, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish on dry land, but Giles merely continued. His voice was calm, but there was a steely note in it. "Maybe, if you had thought about someone other than yourself for one second, none of this would have happened … and you would actually still _have_ a career or a reputation." Wesley's eyes grew wide at this and he paled visibly as Giles took an official looking document out of his pocket and started to read: "Using the authority given to me by the Watchers Council…"

He made a small pause and a tiny flicker of a smile indicated his satisfaction of using Wesley's own words against him. "… you are hereby removed from all your duties and responsibilities as a Watcher of the Slayers Buffy Anne Summers and Faith Rebecca Lehane. You are to return to the Council Headquarters immediately to take responsibility for your actions… signed by Reginald Wyndam-Price, Chairman of the Council of Watchers, Great Britain."

When he uttered the name, nearly everybody gasped, Wesley included, and his eyes bulged as he snatched the paper out of the older man's hand read the signature. "He… he really…"

"Indeed." Giles tone still was carefully indifferent. "No more strings to pull to get the top job." He ignored the spluttered response. "If you want my advice, I'd say you had better start packing immediately … your flight is leaving soon, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss it."

The younger now Ex-Watcher stared at him for some seconds, trying in vain to utter a single word. Then he turned on his heels and stormed out – closely followed by Cordelia. The girl, however, stopped at the door and glared at Giles: "You… you… you're really enjoying this, aren't you?" But even if he would have answered her rhetorical question, she would not have been able to understand him – one of the side-effects of the explosion of whooping and cheering that had broken out on the library. And, funny thing: As strict as he usually was about noise in his library… this time Rupert Giles seemed oddly unconcerned.

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So, this is Chapter 2 ... what do you think? Tell me! – Oh, and thanks again to Faith Summers, who corrected my grammar and spelling mistakes!


	3. Chapter 3: Faith's Story

**Hey, here's chapter 3 – thanks again to Faith Summers for beta-ing it! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3: Faith's story

Cordeila had barely left when the doors opened again and Buffy entered the library. Her eyes were red and swollen, but other than that she seemed to have recovered her emotional balance... and maybe more than that: When Faith approached her; a hesitant smile on her lips, the blond girl didn't as much as look at her, but turned her attention to her Watcher. "Wes is out from under our feet, I guess?"

Giles nodded, just as surprised as anyone about the sharpness of her question. "We don't have to worry about him any longer."

"Good," Faith opened her mouth to say something, but Buffy cut straight across her. "Who's your guest?"

"Ah, right..." The Watcher almost seemed to have forgotten about the other man. "Buffy, may I introduce you to Prof. Lester Worth ... Prof. Worth, this is Buffy Summers, and these," he indicated the others, "are Willow, Xander, Oz and Angel." A general murmur of 'Nice to meet you' and 'My pleasure' was to be heard.

"And you brought him here because..."

A slight frown appeared on Rupert Giles face in reaction to his Slayer's rudeness, but he decided not to react to it ... they had more important things to do. "Why don't we sit down?" When they had – Buffy taking a chair as distant as possible from Faith – he continued: "The reason the Professor is here ... but Faith, maybe you should explain, you know much more about that part anyway..."

"Um ... okay..." Faith cleared her throat, obviously uneasy. All eyes were directed to her – well, all but Buffy's, who was busy examining her fingernails. The look of disappointment and hurt that flashed over Faith's expression didn't go unnoticed.

"Well, earlier today the Mayor told me he had a job for me," she began, not meeting anyone's gaze. "He wanted me to kill somebody ... to kill Professor Worth." She swallowed. "That's when I knew I had to get out. I mean, I've done jobs like that before, taking out demons, but this ... he wanted me to kill a man, a human, to murder him in cold blood..." The dark-haired girl shuddered. "I couldn't do it, especially not after what happened ... I just wanted out."

"I was about to call Rupert to tell him, when I started thinking … Why would the Mayor want me to kill some bookworm?" Willow flinched at the expression. Faith looked at her for a second, then at the Professor. "No offence. But it was odd, and ever stranger that he should sent _me_, not a couple of vamps … it had to be important. So I called Ripper anyway, told him that something was smokin', and that if the Mayor wanted this guy dead, we'd better save him and found out why."

Now Giles took over. "And I agreed whole-heartedly with Faith on both points: We had to save the Professor and she had to get out at once. So when I arrived at the Professor's home and met Faith, we decided to bring Prof. Worth here to find out what makes him so important – and we set up what will hopefully cover the true nature of Faith's … departure."

"What did you do?" Xander asked.

Faith smirked. "Tore the place apart – literally. Smashed furniture, punched holes into the walls, broke about everything that wasn't solid iron …" She saw Prof. Worth wince (the first reaction he had shown at all) and added: "Oh, yeah … most of the books didn't make it, either …"

"You left some blood, too?" Angel asked – it sounded more than a statement. "I can smell it."

Faith nodded. "Yeah, just to make the whole scene a little more convincing. I used my knife to cut myself", she indicated her lower left arm, "and left it there, all blood-stained …"

"I don't get it," Xander admitted. "Why the trouble? And what about the knife?"

"It's the one I used too kill one of that spidery-things that came out of the box." Faith looked at Buffy. "I kinda guessed ya would take it …" She shrugged at the blond Slayer's lack of reaction. Rupert had thought of bringing it … The Mayor gave it to me … when he finds it, covered with my blood in the middle of a completely trashed flat, he's gonna assume that B returned it … in the non-friendly way, that is. And that hopefully will have him looking for me as for an inured ally, not as double agent who has changed sides again."

"Good plan." Oz said, and the others nodded. "Might actually work."

"I hope it will," Giles remarked. "For if the Mayor assumes that Faith died, her appearance on our side in the Final Battle will hit him by surprise, which gives us an extra advantage."

"Let's not plan too far ahead," Buffy said coolly. "Before we congratulate ourselves on unexpected allies, we should find out if we actually gained something by all these hide-and-seek games and cover-ups." She turned to Prof. Worth. "What do you know that's so important the Mayor not only wants you dead, but sends his top-gun to do the job?" Everybody stared at the blond Slayer, surprised, almost shocked at her coldness and distance; Faith's shoulders slumped.

"I …" It came out a little squeaky. "I don't know", the Professor said. "Like Miss Lehane already mentioned, I'm just a bookworm … a volcanologist. I've never seen Mayor Wilkins in person and before tonight I have certainly not been aware of the existence of vampires and demons … I have no idea why he might be interested in me …"

"Whatever it is, it must've been somethin' that happened recently," Faith stated. "Otherwise, he would've taken care of it long ago, when he had time for things like that. He's got a tight schedule now, not much room for distractions."

"Which also means: Whatever it is must be important." Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "And we have to find out, what it is … something you learned or saw recently …" He put his glasses back on and looked at the elderly man. "Professor, what have you been working on lately?"

The Professor started to describe his latest activities, and when he mentioned a giant skeleton he had discovered, Giles' attention was perked instantly, and his interest rose even more at the description of the structure of the bones. "Have you taken any pictures?" he asked. "I need to see them at once!"

"Most of them are in my office at the university," Professor Worth explained, "together with all the files and my notes …"

"I'll go and get them." Buffy rose from her chair, but Faith blocked her way before she could take a step. "No," she said. "Ya can't go out there, B. If the Mayor assumes you killed me, he'll have every human, vamp, and demon in his service on the street lookin' for you … and he won't play games any more!" She made a movement, almost like she wanted to touch the blond girl's shoulder, but then didn't. "Ya can't go out there," she repeated. "[It's] too dangerous."

For the first time since she had returned to the library, Buffy looked at her dark counterpart. Her expression was still impassive, unreadable, and her eyes cool, but at least she acknowledged her presence …

"I'll go." Angel offered. "I can't do much here anyway." He looked at Professor Worth. "Do I have your permission to enter the building and your office?"

The elderly man looked at him, clearly puzzled. "Of course you have …"

"He's a vampire," Willow explained after Angel had left, "he can't enter a house unless he's invited …" She turned to Giles. "But isn't a university a public place? I didn't know …"

"A _vampire_?" The Professor had paled visibly. "But … but …"

"A good one," the redhead added quickly. "He has a soul and fights the good fight now."

Lester Worth slowly shook his head. "Good vampires and …" He looked at Faith. "What did you say you were? And _Slayers_ that pretend to turn evil … It seems the distinction between good and evil is quite blurry in your world …"

Buffy snorted. "Tell me about it!" Faith shot her a sharp look, but it seemed the older girl had gone back to ignoring her.

---

**I know this chapter is a little short, but I hope you like it anyway. And for those of you who can't await the Fuffy-action ... be patient! There are some things that have to be taken care of before we get there. Please review!**


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